Source Audio is an American manufacturer of guitar and bass effects, who has a new and exciting holistic approach to what an effect pedal can be.

Because most people feel slightly intimidated by devices that look unfamiliar, Source Audio has chosen to give their One Series pedal range a familiar stompbox look. These pedals may look like regular floor effects, but there much more going on than meets the eye.

Source Audio’s basic philosophy could be summed up as ”maximum flexibility and maximum controllability coupled with the best possible audio quality”.

Despite their deceptively simple looks the Series One pedals offer such a large range of tonal options that a review, such as this one, can only give you a little glimpse at all the available options.

As a physical stand-alone device the Gemini offers you a choice of three different chorus modes – the vintage-style Classic mode, the fatter Dual mode, and the very lush Quad mode. In addition to the regular knobs for Depth and Speed, there are also controls for Tone and (Effect) Mix.

The LA Lady, too, comes with three different overdrive flavours – Classic, Crunch, Smooth – and four controls (Drive, Level, Bass, and Treble).

The larger size, as well as the number of different controls, of the Source Audio Nemesis delay (296.65 €) already hints at the wide array of options available.

As a stand-alone unit you can chose from 12 different delay-types, with algorithms ranging from the traditional (Slapback or Analog) to the far-out (Helix or Shifter). Three controls adjust the main delay parameters (Time, Feedback, Mix), and another set of three knobs control the pedal’s modulation section (Mod, Rate, Intensity).

In addition to the On/Off-switch there’s also a footswitch for the Tap Tempo function. The corresponding mini-switch lets you choose from three different tap tempo divisions (quarter notes, dotted eighths, and eighth triplets).

The Nemesis’ preset memory has been placed between the footswitches. You can store eight preset patches for fast recall.

All One Series pedals are true stereo effects, meaning they can process and output stereo signals. The stereophonic effect signal isn’t just processed stereo – with the right channel being a phase reversed copy of the left channel – but there’s a real stereo spread with both channels carrying discrete signals.

The reviewed pedals all need a power supply (included in the package) unit to work properly.

The Control Input is used by a range of different Source Audio controllers, while the mini-USB port lets you update a pedal’s firmware (Windows/OS X).

The Nemesis Delay adds a 1/4-inch Pedal In jack, which can be used with a regular expression pedal for preset switching.

There’s also full MIDI-implementation on the Nemesis.

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As I’ve mentioned at the beginning, what can be seen from the outside is only the tip of the proverbial iceberg. In reality each of these Source Audio effects is fully-fledged digital effects processor, specialising in a certain effect type, and the user can access and adjust any parameter, even in real time, using a mobile device or one of Source Audio’s range of controllers.

Using Source Audio’s free Neuro-app gives you full access to all of the parameters inside the pedals from your Android- or iOS-running mobile device.

A special cable is included with each pedal that plugs into your phone’s (or tablet’s) headphones output and the right channel input of your One Series pedal. If you use several Source Audio pedals on your pedalboard, there’s no need to plug into each one separately, because you can connect to any One Series pedal in your signal chain simply by plugging into one of the pedals. Still, you can only remote control one pedal’s parameters at any given time. You have to select the pedal you want to edit, before you can perform the parameter changes.

Despite the large number of different parameters on offer Source Audio’s Neuro is surprisingly easy to use. Personally, I do prefer using a tablet, because of the larger display, but a smartphone will work fine, too.

Thanks to the open architecture of the Series One pedals, the Neuro-app enables you to use (and edit) patches of the model range’s other modulation effects (the Lunar Phaser and the Mercury Flanger), too, turning the chorus pedal into a phaser or flanger.

There are even more editable parameters offered in the LA Lady overdrive than in the Gemini chorus using Neuro, but the most interesting one surely must be the access to a second ”overdrive engine”. The two engines can run two different overdrive types simultaneously (with options ranging from vintage fuzz to modern distortion), and each engine can then be adjusted with things like EQ.

You can choose from a range of different signal routings using the I/O Routing Option menu. In addition to different mono and stereo input and output options, you can also decide whether to run the two overdrive engines in parallel or in series.

Using the Neuro-app let’s you turn your LA Lady into a different One Series drive effect (the Kingmaker Fuzz and the Aftershock Bass Distortion).

Using Neuro will double the available number of delay-types in the Nemesis Delay from 12 to 24. The additional delays include complex multi-tap rhythms (Complex Rhythmic), wildly pitch-shifting repeats (Compound Shifter), and a number of low-fi and vintage options (Oil Can, Lo-Fi Retro, Warped Record, Binson).

Additional internal parameters include things, such as the tone of the feedback signal, the sweep filter, or the distortion and noise levels of a tape echo.

The Nemesis, too, offers you a number of different signal routing options.

In addition to traditional expression pedals the company also offers a range of different controllers:

The Hot Hand 3 controller uses a special ring for parameter control. The ring senses 3D-movement and has a transmission range of 30 metres.

The Neuro Hub is Source Audio’s very compact switcher that allows you to store up to 128 different sets (so-called scenes) of patch settings of up to five Source Audio effect pedals. The scenes stored in the Neuro Hub can be recalled on the fly, for example via MIDI. The Hub Manager software (Windows, OS X) lets you adjust scene settings and patches using a computer connected to the USB port.

Source Audio’s holistic and open approach to effect pedals is so all-encompassing, that a review article, such as this, can only scratch the surface of what is possible. I’m sure I could have spend a few weeks more with these pedals, without ever becoming bored.

This is a cool trio of effects, even straight out of the box. The Gemini Chorus and the LA Lady Overdrive both offer three different effect modes and plenty of scope for quick adjustments. Even as a stand-alone unit the Nemesis Delay is something of a flagship delay pedal, with its 12 delay-types, its modulation section, and the internal preset memory.

Many users would already feel satisfied by these three pedals as they are, because they are easy to use and sound terrific.

Source Audio’s Neuro-app, along with the company’s range of controllers, turns these pedals into full-blown sound laboratories, where only the sky (and your own imagination) is the limit. A new era of effect pedals has dawned…

Bogner Amplification has recently added a new member to its Goldfinger-family of guitar amps. In addition to the two-channel Goldfinger 45, there’s now also a single-channel amplifier available, called the Goldfinger 54 Phi.

The 54 Phi’s starting point was the Goldfinger 45’s clean Alpha-channel. The new model is concentrating mainly on clean tones, and it is meant as the ideal combo for guitarists who achieve most of their sounds with the help of effect pedals.

In its combo version – the 54 Phi is also available as an amp head – weighs in at about 26 kilos.

The cabinet is made from pine ply and it sports an open back construction.

Bogner’s new tube combo comes equipped with a Celestion G12M-65 Creamback speaker, which combines a modern power rating with a classic, Greenback-type tonality.

A four-button footswitch unit is sold with the GF 54 Phi, and it gives us some hints regarding the combo’s versatility and features.

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Bogner’s Goldfinger Phi offers a lot of scope for adjustment, so that every guitarist can dial in the sound he or she wants. Due to its versatility the 54 Phi needs you to get familiar with all its features, before plugging your guitar in and wailing away.

Actually, you should start your sonic journey with this Bogner’s back panel! The GF 54 Phi comes with a slightly unusual split power amp that employs two pairs of power amp valves – a pair of 6V6s and a pair of 6L6s. Each pair can be switched on or off individually, while the front panel’s Hi/Low-switch makes it possible to use only a single power amp tube from each pair, in effect halving the combo’s output power. By using the Hi/Low-switch and the power amp switches you can choose from six power modes. The lowest alternative lets the Goldfinger Phi run at approximately nine watts (6V6, Low), while the highest power mode (6L6+6V6, Hi) will give you the combo’s full 66 watts of output.

As were talking about a valve amp here, choosing between pairs (or single) power amp tubes doesn’t only have a bearing on the 54’s power rating, but it also affects the amp’s behaviour, especially when it comes to clean headroom and power amp compression (sag). You need to find the ”right” tube and Hi/Low-switch mix for your own, personal tone.

The Gain knob is used to set the preamp gain, while Loudness is what Bogner calls their master volume controls. There are two signal boosts implemented in the Goldfinger Phi’s preamp, but their are placed at different points in the signal chain, which makes them work and sound differently. The adjustable Boost booster is placed in front of the Gain control, even making it possible to achieve some distortion, if necessary. Solo, in turn, is a fixed booster that sits right at the end of the preamp.

Bogner’s GF 54 Phi offers you two different EQ-configurations. You can choose from Bogner’s own, modern tone stack or switch to a vintage Baxandall EQ. Originally, the Baxandall circuit was designed for Hi-Fi equipment, but it found its way into some guitar amps from the 1950s and 60s. Due to the way a Bax EQ works, there’s a perceivable drop in volume when you switch over without readjusting the EQ controls.

The EQ-section is complemented by a separate Presence control, as well as two Expand-switches (one adding bottom end, the other treble).

It may come as a shock to some valve purists, but Reinhold Bogner has deliberately chosen a digital reverb unit for his 54 Phi. In his view this digital unit offers more depth of sound and lushness than the type of spring tray he’d be able to fit into the 54 Phi combo. The reverb type features a little bit of chorus-style modulation to liven things up even further.

I’ve moaned about this before, and I’ll say it again: I’m not the biggest fan of Bogner’s downward-facing back panels. Unless you know the exact position of all connectors and switches by heart, you are forced to lie on your back to make sense of it all.

Be that as it may, the Bogner Goldfinger 54 Phi’s back panel gives you a wide array of different options for getting the most from your combo.

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I was only given a weekend to test Bogner’s new baby, which is why I didn’t have enough time to record more audio demos. I still managed to come up with two, stylistically rather different demo songs.

The first track was recorded with the 54 Phi combo running in in 9 watts power mode, which made it possible to achieve overdriven sounds without the aid of pedals, simply by running hot humbucking pickups into the Goldfinger. The lead guitar is a Gibson Les Paul Junior with the tone knob turned down halfway, while all backwards guitar tracks were played on a Gibson Melody Maker SG. I recorded the combo (in both demo songs) with a Shure SM57:

The second demo track was recorded with the Bogner running at full tilt (66 W), and with a Boss SD-1 overdrive and a Joyo JF-37 chorus pedal in front of the combo. All guitar parts are played on a Flaxwood MTQ Hybrid guitar with a neck humbucker and a Telecaster-type single coil in the bridge position: